Footwear

ABSTRACT

To provide footwear, in which a cushion layer is effectively bent even though an outsole of footwear has a thick cushion layer to distribute weight, thereby putting no stain on movement during walking, the footwear according to the disclosure includes uppers provided to surround at least a certain region of a wearer&#39;s foot; a supporter disposed below the uppers and supporting the foot; and a walking assister provided in the supporter, adjacent to a metatarsophalangeal joint area of the foot, and generating elasticity in a walking direction of the wearer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119 (a), this application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0087939, filed on Jul. 5, 2021, the contents of which are all hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to footwear, and more particularly to footwear capable of reducing strain on joints of feet during walking.

Related Art

In general, footwear refers to things that people wear on their feet when standing or walking on the ground. The footwear includes a cushion for foot health. The footwear with the cushion is also beneficial to a wearer's knee and back.

The conventional technology of the footwear has already been disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 2013-0071160. This invention is to keep a foot healthy by providing a multilayered cushion in a lower portion of a shoe.

However, the shoe with the cushion cannot avoid thickening of a sole. Further, the cushion lacks elasticity in a horizontal direction for the sake of elasticity in a vertical direction, and thus causes a problem that the sole is not bent well. When a wearer walks, a metatarsophalangeal joint area gets bent a lot. In particular, when a wearer does a vigorous exercise such as running, the metatarsophalangeal joint area gets bent more.

FIG. 15 illustrates walking with the shoe and barefoot walking. As shown in FIG. 15 , the walking with the shoe is different from the barefoot walking if the sole of the shoe is not bent.

In particular, if the sole of the shoe is thick and is less elastic in the horizontal direction, more power is needed and joints are strained to fold the metatarsophalangeal joint area. To solve this, there has been released a product which is hollow or has a corrugated sole so that the shoe can be readily bent. However, the released products still have problems that power is needed to bend the metatarsophalangeal joint area and inconvenience is caused by tripping over a step, etc. or catching foreign materials therein even though the shoe is relatively easily bent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the disclosure is to provide footwear, in which a cushion layer is effectively bent even though an outsole of footwear has a thick cushion layer to distribute weight, thereby putting no stain on movement during walking.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided footwear including: uppers provided to surround at least a certain region of a wearer's foot; a supporter disposed below the uppers and supporting the foot; and a walking assister provided in the supporter, adjacent to a metatarsophalangeal joint area of the foot, and generating elasticity in a walking direction of the wearer.

The walking assister may be compressed in mid-stance motion of the wearer, and restored in toe-off motion of the wearer.

The walking assister may include a plurality of walking assisters provided below the metatarsophalangeal joint, and the metatarsophalangeal joint may be positioned between the plurality of walking assisters.

The walking assister may be formed as a single body below the metatarsophalangeal joint.

The supporter may include a mounting groove formed to cross the supporter in a widthwise direction of the supporter, and the walking assister may be mounted to the mounting groove.

The walking assister may be provided to cross the supporter in the widthwise direction of the supporter, and formed to have a trapezoidal cross-section in the lengthwise direction of the supporter.

The walking assister may include a material of which elasticity is high in the walking direction of the wearer.

The walking assister may be shaped like a torsion spring.

The mounting groove may be shaped to taper upward in its cross-section in the lengthwise direction of the supporter.

The walking the supporter may include: a first frame area disposed to be adjacent to a front region of the mounting groove; a second frame area disposed to be adjacent to a back region of the mounting groove; and an elastic area connecting the first and second frame areas and generating elasticity between the first and second frame areas.

The walking assister may assist the supporter in ordinarily bending a front region upward an angle of 10˜40° with respect to the metatarsophalangeal joint, and generate elasticity when the supporter is compressed by external force while touching the ground and then taken off the ground.

The supporter may include an outsole disposed below the uppers; and a midsole disposed between the uppers and the outsole, and the walking assister may be provided in the outsole or both the outsole and the midsole.

The walking assister may include a first assister disposed frontward with reference to the metatarsophalangeal joint; and a second assister disposed backward with reference to the metatarsophalangeal joint, wherein the first assister and the second assister are different in angle at which the supporter is bent during the walking of the wearer.

The first assister may allow the front region of the supporter to be bent at an angle of 15˜25°, and the second assister may allow the back region of the supporter to be bent at an angle of 45˜65°.

The first and second assisters may be formed with a bottom side longer than a top side.

The bottom side of the first assister may be lengthened in a frontward direction, and the bottom side of the second assister may be lengthened in a backward direction.

The foregoing technical effects of the disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other unmentioned technical effects will become apparent to those skilled in the art by the following descriptions

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a lateral view of footwear according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the footwear according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a structure of a general foot;

FIGS. 4 to 6 illustrate possible diseases in a metatarsophalangeal joint;

FIG. 7 illustrates motion of a foot in general walking motion;

FIG. 8 illustrates joints of foot in a normal condition;

FIG. 9 illustrates mid stance motion of the footwear according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 10 illustrates toe-off motion of the footwear according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a lateral view of footwear according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 12 illustrates a walking assister in the footwear according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 13 illustrates mid stance motion of the footwear according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 14 illustrates toe-off motion of the footwear according to the second embodiment; and

FIG. 15 illustrates walking with a shoe and barefoot walking.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, embodiments are not limited to the following embodiments set forth herein, but may be implemented in various forms. The following embodiments are provided in order to fully describe the disclosure and enable those skilled in the art to understand the scope of the disclosure. In the drawings, the shapes, etc. of the elements may be exaggerated for clearer description, and like numerals refer to like elements.

FIG. 1 is a lateral view of footwear according to a first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the footwear according to the first embodiment. Further, FIG. 3 illustrates a structure of a general foot.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , footwear 1000 according to the first embodiment includes an elastic walking assister 100 in supporters 1200 and 1300 forming a lower region. Thus, the footwear 1000 puts no strain on a wearer's movement during walking.

In general, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 , a metatarsophalangeal joint in a body structure serves to connect a metatarsal bone and a phalange. In other words, the metatarsophalangeal joint is a part on which a lot of weight is put and which is bent and stressed the most in the foot during walking. Therefore, the metatarsophalangeal joint and its surrounding regions are vulnerable to arthritis, metatarsalgia, interdigital neuralgia, Morton's neuroma, hallux valgus, and the like diseases.

Thus, the supporters 1200 and 1300 of the footwear 1000 are required to have a thick cushion layer for weight distribution and be effectively bent in a region adjacent to the metatarsophalangeal joint.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7 , during walking, motion of the foot is divided into phases of heel strike—mid stance—toe-off. Referring to the motion of the foot during the walking, it is seen that the most bending part in the motion of the foot during the walking is a metatarsophalangeal joint area in the toe-off phase. The metatarsophalangeal joint is an area that consumes the highest energy in the toe-off phase of lifting a heel and moving forward by giving strength to toes.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 to 3 , to solve the foregoing problems, the footwear 1000 according to the first embodiment may include uppers 1100, a midsole 1200, an outsole 1300, and the walking assister 100.

The uppers 1100 may have various shapes according to the kinds of footwear 1000. For example, the uppers 1100 form an overall upper region of the footwear 1000 and serve to protect a wearer's foot. Further, the midsole 1200 is interposed between the uppers 1100 and the outsole 1300 and provides cushioning. Further, the outsole 1300 is placed beneath the midsole 1200, and strikes the ground. Here, the midsole 1200 and the outsole 1300 are provided to form the supporters 1200 and 1300 of the footwear 1000.

Meanwhile, the walking assister 100 is provided as an elastic body.

For example, the walking assister 100 may be made of a material of which elasticity is high in a horizontal direction, i.e., in a lengthwise direction of the footwear 1000. The walking assister 100 may be provided in the outsole 1300 or in both the outsole 1300 and the midsole 1200.

For example, the walking assisters 100 are placed to be adjacent to the metatarsophalangeal joint, and form a pair below the metatarsophalangeal joint so that the metatarsophalangeal joint can be positioned between the pair of walking assisters 100. Further, the walking assisters 100 may be provided as a single body and placed below the metatarsophalangeal joint. However, this is merely to describe this embodiment, and at least one walking assister 100 or two or more multiple walking assisters 100 may be provided.

Further, the walking assisters 100 may be mounted to cross the outsole 1300 or to cross the outsole 1300 and the midsole 1200 in a widthwise direction of the footwear 1000. However, this is merely to describe this embodiment, and at least an area of the walking assister 100 may be surrounded by the midsole 1200 or the outsole 1300.

Further, the walking assister 100 may be formed with a bottom side longer than a top side. For example, the walking assister 100 may be formed to have a trapezoidal cross-section in the lengthwise direction of the footwear 1000.

Thus, a front region of the footwear 1000 is provided to face upward at an angle of 10˜40° by the walking assister 100. In other words, the walking assister 100 having the trapezoidal cross-section in the lengthwise direction may bend a toe-side region of the footwear 1000 upward as compared with that of the conventional footwear. Therefore, toes of a wearer who wears the footwear 1000 are oriented upward.

Meanwhile, the walking assister 100 may include a first assister 110 disposed forward in with respect to the metatarsophalangeal joint, and a second assister 120 disposed backward with respect to the metatarsophalangeal joint.

In this case, the first assister 110 and the second assister 120 may be different in angle at which the outsole is bent. For example, a degree of bending the outsole 1300 may be varied depending on the use of the footwear 1000. When the outsole 1300 is bent at an angle of 60˜90°, the first assister 110 allows the front region of the outsole to be bent at an angle of 15˜25° and the second assister 120 allows the back region of the outsole to be bent at an angle of 45˜65°.

Further, the first assister 110 and the second assister 120 may have the bottom sides longer than the top sides so as to smoothly assist walking when the outsole 1300 is bent. In this case, the bottom side of the first assister 110 may be lengthened in the frontward direction, and the bottom side of the second assister 120 may be lengthened in the backward direction. Therefore, the first assister 110 assists the front region of the outsole 1300 in being more easily stretched and bent, and the second assister 120 assists the back region of the outsole 1300 in being more easily stretched and bent.

As shown in FIG. 8 , toes of a human basically face upward as the metatarsophalangeal joint is bent. Thus, a wearer's toes face upward while wearing the footwear, thereby maintaining the foot comfortable.

Further, even when a wearer is in a driving or sitting position, dorsal flexion where the wearer's toes are bent toward the dorsum of the foot is maintained. Thus, a wearer's toes are oriented upward when wearing the footwear 1000, thereby maintaining the foot comfortable even in a driving or sitting position.

In this way, the walking assister 100 assists a part of the foot, which is bent the most, i.e., a metatarsophalangeal joint area, i.e., in being easily bent. Further, the walking assister 100 uses elasticity to assist motion of lifting the heel of the foot in the toe-off phase where the highest energy is consumed.

In other words, conventional footwear requires power for bending a lower region of the footwear when the metatarsophalangeal joint area is bent in the toe-off phase.

On the other hand, the footwear 1000 according to the first embodiment includes the walking assister 100 so that the supporters 1200 and 1300 of the footwear 1000 can be easily bent, thereby reducing energy consumed during the walking. Accordingly, the footwear 1000 needs less force for the joints and their surroundings and the foot is not strained, thereby having effects on preventing various possible diseases in the foot.

Below, motion of a foot wearing the footwear during walking will be described. However, repetitive descriptions will be avoided, and like numerals refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 9 illustrates mid stance motion of the footwear according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 10 illustrates toe-off motion of the footwear according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 , a toe portion of the footwear 1000 according to the first embodiment is bent upward. Further, toes and a foot arch are kept parallel to the ground by the wearer's weight in mid-stance motion of putting a foot on the ground. In this case, the supporters 1200 and 1300 of the footwear 1000 are also kept parallel to the ground, and therefore the supporters 1200 and 1300 of the walking assister 100 are contracted. Thus, the walking assister 100 are urged to return to its original shape by elasticity in the horizontal direction.

Then, a gait is switched over from the mid stance phase to the toe-off phase. Thus, when a wearer first lifts the heel, the walking assister 100 assists the wearer's metatarsophalangeal joint in being easily bent as the contracted lower region returns to its original shape. In addition, the walking assister 100 assists the heel in being lifted. Because the metatarsophalangeal joint is easily bent, the stress on the metatarsophalangeal joint is relieved to thereby prevent metatarsophalangeal arthralgia, interdigital neuralgia, etc. Further, there is an advantage of reducing overall energy consumption during walking.

Below, footwear according to a second embodiment will be described in detail. However, repetitive descriptions will be avoided, and like numerals refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 11 is a lateral view of footwear according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 12 illustrates a walking assister in the footwear according to the second embodiment. Further, FIG. 13 illustrates mid stance motion of the footwear according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 14 illustrates toe-off motion of the footwear according to the second embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 11 to 14 , the footwear 1000 according to the second embodiment may include at least one mounting groove 1000 a in the supporters 1200 and 1300 of the footwear 1000 adjacent to the metatarsophalangeal joint.

The mounting groove 1000 a is provided to be adjacent to the metatarsophalangeal joint, and forms a pair below the metatarsophalangeal joint so that the metatarsophalangeal joint can be positioned between a pair of mounting grooves 1000 a. However, the mounting groove 1000 a may be provided as a single body and positioned below the metatarsophalangeal joint. Alternatively, two or more multiple mounting grooves may be provided.

The mounting groove 1000 a may be provided to cross the outsole 1300 or to cross the outsole 1300 and the midsole 1200, i.e., the supporters 1200 and 1300 in the widthwise direction of the footwear. Further, the mounting groove 1000 a may be formed with a lower portion longer than an upper portion in the lengthwise direction of the footwear. However, this is merely to describe this embodiment, and there are no limits to the shape of the mounting groove.

Meanwhile, the walking assister 100 is mounted to the mounting groove 1000 a.

For example, the walking assister 100 may be shaped like a torsion spring. The walking assister 100 may include a first frame area 110, a second frame area 120, and an elastic area 130 to provide elasticity in a parallel direction, i.e. in the lengthwise direction of the footwear 100.

The first frame area 110 is installed to be adjacent to an internal front region of the mounting groove 1000 a, and the second frame area 120 is installed to be adjacent to an internal back region of the mounting groove 1000 a. Further, the elastic area 130 is disposed to be adjacent to an internal upper region of the mounting groove 1000 a, and connects the first frame area 110 and the second frame area 120 so that the walking assister 100 can provide elasticity in the horizontal direction.

Accordingly, the mounting groove 1000 a adjacent to the metatarsophalangeal joint is usually opened in the lower region by the walking assister 100. Thus, a wearer's toes wearing the footwear 1000 is kept bent upward.

Further, when a foot has mid-stance motion during walking, the supporters 1200 and 1300 of the footwear 1000 are compressed by the wearer's weight and the lower region of the mounting groove 1000 a becomes narrowed. In this case, the first frame area 110 and the second frame area 120 of the walking assister 100 are close to each other, and urged to return to their original shapes by elasticity in the horizontal direction.

Then, a gait is switched over from the mid stance phase to the toe-off phase. In this case, when a wearer lifts the heel, the narrowed first and second frame areas 110 and 120 of the walking assister 100 become widened, thereby making the mounting groove 1000 a be easily opened.

Because the metatarsophalangeal joint is easily bent, the stress on the metatarsophalangeal joint is relieved to thereby prevent metatarsophalangeal arthralgia, interdigital neuralgia, etc. Further, there is an advantage of reducing overall energy consumption during walking.

Like this, the footwear according to the disclosure relieves stress on the metatarsophalangeal joint during a wearer's wearing and walking, and thus has effect on preventing various diseases and maintaining the foot comfortable.

Footwear according to the disclosure has effects on preventing various diseases as stress on a metatarsophalangeal joint is relieved during a wearer's wearing and walking, and maintaining a foot comfortable as weak force is enough to bend an outsole during walking and it is thus easy to assist the walking.

The foregoing technical effects of the disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other unmentioned technical effects will become apparent to those skilled in the art by the following descriptions.

The embodiments of the disclosure described above and illustrated in the drawings should not be interpreted as limiting the technical concept of the disclosure. The scope of the disclosure is defined by appended claims, and various improvements and modifications can be made in the technical concept of the disclosure by a person having ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, such improvements and modifications fall within the scope of the disclosure as long as they are obvious to those skilled in the art. 

What is claimed is:
 1. Footwear comprising: uppers provided to surround at least a certain region of a wearer's foot; a supporter disposed below the uppers and supporting the foot; and a walking assister provided in the supporter, adjacent to a metatarsophalangeal joint area of the foot, and generating elasticity in a walking direction of the wearer.
 2. The footwear of claim 1, wherein the walking assister is compressed in mid-stance motion of the wearer, and restored in toe-off motion of the wearer.
 3. The footwear of claim 1, wherein the walking assister comprises a plurality of walking assisters provided below the metatarsophalangeal joint, and the metatarsophalangeal joint is positioned between the plurality of walking assisters.
 4. The footwear of claim 1, wherein the walking assister is formed as a single body below the metatarsophalangeal joint.
 5. The footwear of claim 1, wherein the supporter comprises a mounting groove formed to cross the supporter in a widthwise direction of the supporter, and the walking assister is mounted to the mounting groove.
 6. The footwear of claim 5, wherein the walking assister is provided to cross the supporter in the widthwise direction of the supporter, and formed to have a trapezoidal cross-section in the lengthwise direction of the supporter.
 7. The footwear of claim 6, wherein the walking assister comprises a material of which elasticity is high in the walking direction of the wearer.
 8. The footwear of claim 5, wherein the walking assister is shaped like a torsion spring.
 9. The footwear of claim 5, wherein the mounting groove is shaped to taper upward in its cross-section in the lengthwise direction of the supporter.
 10. The footwear of claim 9, wherein the walking the supporter comprises: a first frame area disposed to be adjacent to a front region of the mounting groove; a second frame area disposed to be adjacent to a back region of the mounting groove; and an elastic area connecting the first and second frame areas and generating elasticity between the first and second frame areas.
 11. The footwear of claim 1, wherein the walking assister assists the supporter in ordinarily bending a front region upward an angle of 10˜40° with respect to the metatarsophalangeal joint, and generates elasticity when the supporter is compressed by external force while touching the ground and then taken off the ground.
 12. The footwear of claim 1, wherein the supporter comprises an outsole disposed below the uppers; and a midsole disposed between the uppers and the outsole, and the walking assister is provided in the outsole or both the outsole and the midsole.
 13. The footwear of claim 1, wherein the walking assister comprises: a first assister disposed frontward with reference to the metatarsophalangeal joint; and a second assister disposed backward with reference to the metatarsophalangeal joint, wherein the first assister and the second assister are different in angle at which the supporter is bent during the walking of the wearer.
 14. The footwear of claim 13, wherein the first assister allows the front region of the supporter to be bent at an angle of 15˜25°, and the second assister allows the back region of the supporter to be bent at an angle of 45˜65°.
 15. The footwear of claim 14, wherein the first and second assisters are formed with a bottom side longer than a top side.
 16. The footwear of claim 15, wherein the bottom side of the first assister is lengthened in a frontward direction, and the bottom side of the second assister is lengthened in a backward direction. 